UEFA rejects Benfica appeal, confirms Prestianni suspension for Real Madrid return | OneFootball

UEFA confirmed on Wednesday, hours before the Real Madrid v Benfica return leg, that Gianluca Prestianni remains provisionally suspended, and it rejected Benfica’s appeal. The Argentine will miss tonight’s game at 21:00.

The first leg in Lisbon last Tuesday ended 1-0 to Madrid. Vinicius Jr scored in the 50th minute, then taunted the Estádio da Luz crowd and was booked. As play was set to restart, he pointed to Prestianni and alleged he had been called “mono”. The referee halted play for nearly 10 minutes before resuming without further sanction.

Several Madrid players accused Prestianni of racism. The forward denied the claim on Instagram, saying Vinicius had misheard him.

UEFA had already imposed a provisional ban on Monday pending an investigation by an ethics and disciplinary inspector, with no date given for its conclusions. Benfica lodged an immediate appeal.

Separately, Portugal’s authority for the prevention and fight against violence in sport opened an administrative sanction procedure last week.

Source: Le Progres